Leniency Program

Summary

This practice note explains the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division formal program—commonly known as the Leniency Program—that encourages parties to an illegal agreement (i.e., cartelists) to self-report and cooperate with the government's investigations in exchange for agreeing to not bring charges or to reduce penalties. A corporation or individual that successfully meets and completes the requirements of the program is provided a letter in which the Division agrees to decline to prosecute the corporation or individual for the reported antitrust conduct. There are several conditions that must be met and multistep process that must be followed for an individual or a corporation to obtain the leniency letter agreement. While participation in the leniency process is generally coveted, there are negative aspects of the program.